Spit Upgrades Launch

Dec 18, 2017

Save Our Spit was honoured to be invited to join with Queensland Minister for Main Roads & Ports Mark Bailey, Assistant Minister for Tourism and new Gold Coast MP Meaghan Scanlon, the team from Gold Coast Waterways Authority along with various local community groups and stakeholders to commemorate the official opening of the upgraded parklands for Doug Jennings Park and The Spit.

"Everyone loves The Spit, and four million dollars has gone into progressively upgrading The Spit to make this public place incrediby inviting, to make sure it's fitting for the Gold Coast ... this is part of a real commitment from the Palaszczuk Government," minister Bailey said.

Save Our Spit's Luke Sorensen praised the Waterways Authority on their genuine consultative approach to the community and said the current State Government had demonstrated an intelligent and sustainable vision for the area, something that has up until now been a rarity on the Gold Coast, especially under the current council's woeful leadership.

"What we see here today is a credit to Hal, Daniel, Mara and the hard-working Gold Coast Waterways team. These upgrades not only enhance and improve the area with welcome soft embelishments, but they stay true to the social fabric, environmental value and real scope of this critical public space, as both an important recreational community space and a powerhouse economic driver for our tourism industry, keeping it free, open and availbale to every local and visitor alike," he said.

"Doug Jennings, if he were here to see this today, would be immensly proud of the large collective and unified efforts of government working hand in hand with the community to achieve real positive outcomes. This sends a loud signal to all those that wish to selfishly take this place for their own greed-driven commercial or corporate development agenda, that this place belongs to the community and should remain and open free public space for generations to come. Our poor visionless mayor wouldn't be able to comprehend such concepts, all he hears is pokie machines ringing and all he sees is dollar signs and neon," Luke added.

Gold Coast Waterways Authrority Chairperson, Mara Bun, echoed Luke's sentiments regarding the park in saying, "back in 1985 Doug Jennings said that for the future of this city there needs to be a place like this where ordinary people can come and hang out and have a great time, and that was his vision for this place."

"I'm just so proud that under our watch this is happening here. It's so great to have the support of all of the community groups who have worked so hard for this to happen," she added.

Gold Coast Waterways Authority's Hal Morris said that a balance had been struck to ensure problems such as over-staying campers and antisocial behaviour were no longer a significant threat to the community value of the area.

Save Our Spit would like to thank GCWA and especially this project's manager Daniel Dray for the exceptional work they have done. We look forward to engaging more as the new community-driven masterplan is developed and implemented by the State Governmennt in the near future.